Purdue Calumet study seeks to grow transport industry in Northwest Indiana

HAMMOND | When most people in Northwest Indiana think of trains, they're either thinking of how to avoid them or cursing them out at a railroad crossing.

A broad array of transportation experts, gathered Friday for a focus group, said that will have to change if Northwest Indiana is to become a major transportation and distribution hub.

"Often they look at the rail industry as the enemy," said Kristi DeLaurentiis, south suburban coordinator for the Metropolitan Planning Council. "They often have issues with the gridlock and the noise ... They often look at railroads as the enemy."

The Chicago-based Metropolitan Planning Council was one of many groups represented at the focus group at Purdue University Calumet. The college is conducting an economic impact study of the transportation, distribution and logistics industry of Northwest Indiana.

The Lake County Integrated Services Delivery Board, which oversees WorkOne employment offices, also is a sponsor.

The study is being spearheaded by Amlan Mitra, an associate professor of economics in the school of management, and aims to pinpoint challenges facing the industry in Northwest Indiana as well as build support for its expansion.

On Friday, specific projects such as an intermodal rail yard were batted around the table. Intermodal yards allow trucks to transfer cargo to trains and/or ships, and vice versa.

Hammond's Gibson Yards came in for the most discussion. The railroad yard plays host to the largest auto transfer yard in the United States.

Gibson Yards already has road and rail infrastructure in place and room for industries that might want to locate nearby, according to Justin Murphy, chief of staff for the Four City Consortium (Hammond, Whiting, East Chicago, Gary).

There are also six other sites in Northwest Indiana that could play host to such an intermodal yard, including at least one in LaPorte County.

Public support for intermodal transportation can be built by showing the public how the industry will create jobs directly and indirectly, said Matt Hunter, of the Center of Workforce Innovations.

A study done by the center earlier this year on "21st Century Logistics" shows average annual wages in the industry range from $31,657 for trucking support workers to $50,729 for workers in air, rail and water transport.

Though the area has road and rail systems in place, it lacks technology infrastructure to adequately support modern transportation, distribution and logistics (TDL), according to Mitra. Specifically, the area needs to develop high-speed fiber-optic networks that can handle the complex tracking of goods and cargo that distributors and customers demand.

"I think what will come out of this study is how TDL affects other industries," Mitra said. "That is a very important part of this."

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